Continuous envelopes

ABSTRACT

1,059,909. Plastics bags. DOHMEIER &amp; STROTHOTTE KOMM GES. Oct. 4, 1965 [Oct. 30, 1964], No. 34528/66. Divided out of 1,059,908. Heading B8K. The subject-matter is identical with that described with reference to Fig. 2 of Specification 1,059,908, the claims relating to a band of bags as shown in that Figure.

March 17, 1970 A. DIOHQMEIER 3,501,085

CONTINUOUS ENVELOPES Original Filed 001;; 4, 1965 FIG. I

INVENTOR.

- AR pawns/5R A TTOR/VEXS' United States Patent Office 3,501,085 Patented Mar. 17, 1970 Int. 01. B65d 57/10, 31/00 US. Cl. 22969 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A packing bag or chain of bag elements comprising for example, a web sheet folded to include side wall portions on each side of the fold which are arranged in juxtaposition. Heat sealed areas or seams are defined at spaced locations and extend from adjacent the fold line toward the end edges of the web to compartment the same into bag elements, but terminate at a spaced location from the end edges to leave spreadable flaps. A line of weakness, such as a perforation line, extends from the flap region to adjacent the fold line such that the bags are'readily separable after filling. The bag elements may be filled when connected together, using means for separating the flaps of the bags from the end edges down to the beginning of the heat seal line.

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 604,494 filed Aug. 12, 1966, now abandoned, which is a division of Ser. No. 492,404, filed Oct. 4, 1965, also abandoned.

Prior to thepresent invention, it has been known to form a web into an endless tube which is filled and heatsealed or welded at locations before and after a filling device. Such a method and device are satisfactory as long as the product to be packed is clean and will not contaminate the cleaning device and the welding device. If, for example, a product such as potatoes or other agricultural products are to be packed in bags or containers, difliculties are encountered because the machinery becomes fouled with the surrounding coverings and associated debris associated with such vegetables.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a bag arrangement which permits the filling of the containers at a location which is separate from the sealing and forming of the containers. In accordance with the invention, a web of bag-forming material is directed first to means for folding it along at longitudinal line in order to form bag sidewalls. Thereafter the folded web thus formed is heat-sealed at spaced vertical intervals along an area which extends from the bottom to a location spaced from the top thereof. This forms a plurality of interconnected bag elements with loose or freely spreadable top flaps which may be separated for presenting the bag elements below a filling spout at which they are filled with material or products to be shipped in the bags in at least one pound quantities. Thereafter the tops of the bags are sealed such as by welding or heat sealing and the individual bag elements are separated as desired by pulling the bags to be separated off on a fast feed line to separate them. The operation of forming and sealing of the bags may be accomplished separately from the filling and without contamination thereby.

In a preferred arrangement, the apparatus for carrying out the operation can comprise a means for feeding a length of web material to form the bag from a roll thereof and for forming a longitudinal fold line to permit folding upwardly of the sides of the web material to form the bag side walls in generally face to face relationship. The material fed is advantageously heat sealable and is heat-sealed along spaced vertical lines or seams to form the chain of individual bag elements with the top of each bag element left free to permit opening for filling purposes. Means such as rollers or a spreading device are arranged in the path of feed of the chain of formed bag elements to spread open the top edges to permit the top edges to be oriented beneath a filling spout at which the bag elements are filled with the material to be packaged therein and the bottoms are supported on a movable conveyor. Thereafter the bags are passed through means for sealing the top edges and for pulling off one or more bags from the group of bags being fed along a line of weakness formed between adjacent bag elements. The pull-0E device may be arranged for disconnecting, for example, two or more bags from the series or chain of interconnected bag elements. The apparatus advantageously includes a conveyor upon which the bag elements are fed in an upright manner and which may be adjusted in height in accordance with the size of the bag element which is being handled by the machine.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved bag construction wherein the chain of connected bag elements are formed by folding a heat sealable material along a longitudinal fold line and heatsealing the folded wrap at spaced vertical intervals to form individual bag elements with a line of weakness between adjacent bag elements, and wherein the top edges of the bag elements are left unsealed and passed through means for spreading apart the edges to facilitate filling, and after filling the bags are heat-sealed along the top edges and the bag elements are then separated along the line of weakness.

A further object of the invention is to provide a chain of connected bag elements for use in packaging operations wherein at least one pound quantities of product are to be placed in each bag, and wherein the bags are constructed such that the same can be separated after filling without the requirement of cutting them apart, the latter being diflicult due to the bulging of the bag by the product fill.

For an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference is made to the following description of a typical embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic side elevational view of a bag-forming, filling and sealing device constructed in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus indicated in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention embodied therein comprises means such as feed rollers 10 and 12 for feeding a continuous strip of web material 14 from a roll supply thereof 16 and means 20 which in the embodiment illustrated is a folding roller for folding the wrap continuously along the longitudinal fold line to form side walls 22 and 24 for a bag element. Sealing and perforating means 26 are provided for perforating or forming a line of weakness in the web 14 along spaced vertical lines 30 which extend from the bottom or longitudinal fold line 32 to the top of the bag and also for heat-sealing over a vertical band or seam 36 which extends from the bottom 32 to a spaced location from the top of the bag such that the lines of weakness 30 are located or defined between adjacent bag elements respectively, or in other words, are located in the portions respectively connecting together adjacent the bags in the chain of bag elements. The lines of weakness 30 extend upwardly beyond the terminating ends of the seams into the region of the upper end of the bag elements or bag element flaps.

The heat-sealing along the bands 36 divides the continuous strip into a plurality of separate bag elements 40 which may be subsequently separated by parting along the perforation lines or line of weakness 30.

The formed bag elements 40 are fed by means of rollers 39 which are advantageously operated by control means 41 which includes means 43 for braking the speed of the rollers 39, if desired.

The area of the chain of connected bag elements above the heat-seal area 36 is directed past the flap separating means 42 which in the embodiment illustrated is a separating knife element or plow and may comprise separating rollers or similar arrangements. The separating means 42 causes the separation of the top portion or flaps of the bags at a location directly below a filling spout 44 of a feed hopper 46. The feed hopper 46 is provided for the feeding in at least one pound or greater quantities of material to be shipped in the bag elements 40.

Directly below the location of the spout 44 there is arranged an endless belt conveyor 48 which is supported on pedestals 50 and 52 in a manner permitting its vertical adjustment in order to accommodate various sizes of bags. The bag elements 40, after they have been filled, are advanced on the conveyor 48 into association with means 54 for heat-sealing the top portions of the bag.

After the top portions or flaps of the bag elements have been sealed closed, the bags are fed past the pullout device generally designated 56. The pull-out device 56 comprises a pair of roller elements 58 and 60 over which are trained horizontally oriented conveyor belts 64. The conveyor belts 64 are of a size selected for accommodating a particular number of bag elements which are to be separated. For example, the separating device 56 may be employed for separating two bag elements 40 from the remaining elements at a time. Of course, it may also be set to separate one or more than two bag elements at a time, if so desired. The application of the perforations 30, of course, facilitates the separation of the bags along the desired vertical separation line or line of weakness.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in to detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A plurality of bag elements for packaging at least pound quantities of products, said bag elements each including first and second sidewalls arranged in generally face to face relationship and seams edgewise joining together said side walls along the opposite sides of said bag elements, means closing the bottom end of each of said bag elements, said side seams terminating in spaced relationship with the top end of said bag elements to provide first and second flaps freely spreadable from each other and with said first flap being associated with said first sidewall and with said second flap being associated with said second sidewall, said first and second flaps defining therebetween a fill opening, said bag elements being connected together in generally side by side fashion with a line of weakness defined in the portion connecting together adjacent ones of said bag elements, and extending upwardly beyond the terminating ends of said seam into the region of said spreadable flaps thereby, forming. a chain of connected bag elements with separation of the bag elements from each other facilitated by said lines of weakness.

2. The bag elements of claim 1, wherein each connected portion extends continuously from adjacent the bottom end of said bag elements upwardly to a point beyond the terminating ends of said side seams.

3. The bag elements of claim 2, wherein said line of weakness comprises perforations.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS DAVID M. BOCKENEK, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 22953 

